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Basilica Cistern

Gallery

Columns, Medusa heads and brick vaults — ten frames.

Walkway above the water between rows of columns — The walkway between the columns Visitors walk above the water on raised walkways; the cistern has been toured this way since the clean-up of the 1980s.

Medusa head used as a column base — A Medusa head as a base Not a capital but the block under the column: a piece of Roman-period sculpture.

Long central walkway over green-lit water — The central walkway The vault rests on 336 columns: 12 rows of 28.

Columns and brick vaults reflected in the water — Columns in the water When full it held about eighty thousand tons of water, stored in winter for the summer months.

The cistern's clear water and receding rows of columns — Water and rows of columns When Gyllius came down here in 1544, the water covered most of the columns.

The two Medusa heads beneath separate columns — The two Medusa heads In the north-west corner, under two separate columns; one upside down, the other on its side.

Walkway between columns under brick vaults — The brick vaults Walls, arches and vault are brick; walls and floor are sealed with water-resistant lime mortar.

The Weeping Column with its carved shaft — The Weeping Column Near the middle of the cistern, the one column carved from top to bottom; also called the Column of Tears. The pattern is almost identical to the columns of the Theodosian arch at Beyazıt.

Rows of columns along the railed walkway — Rows of columns About nine metres tall, most were taken from older buildings; most of the stone you see is older than the cistern itself.

Column rising above a Medusa head — The column on the Medusa head No written record explains why the heads are here; they are thought to have been brought from a ruined building and used as bases.

These frames show the cistern as it is today; how it came to be is in the History.

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